Paul Murray´s Match Preview / Real Sociedad – Eibar

Following our mediocre performance on Thursday in the Copa del Rey, Real welcome neighbours Eibar to the Anoeta for this midday kick off.

Eibar have started the season in a similar style to last year and currently lie in 9th position with 20 points from 13 games. They have only lost one of their last 4 league fixtures and that was against Real Madrid.

Despite his team’s poor results, Imanol Agirretxe has been in good form for La Reala this season, having scored nine goals in 11 appearances this term. The 28-year-old Striker is enjoying a fine run during his team’s dismal stretch and is expected to lead the way today. Asier Illarramendi will be available again after his suspension but Ruben Pardo will be unavailable due to his one match ban after picking up 5 yellow cards. Pardo is too negative for me in midfield and his absence is likely to improve the pace we move the ball forward.

Fifth place Deportivo La Coruna have amassed only one point more than Jose Luis Mendilibar’s Eibar team and the possibility of European qualification are very much alive for them 13 games into the season. However back-to-back defeats to Real Madrid in the league and to Ponferradina in the Copa del Rey during the week may have damaged the team’s spirits and the memory of the 3-0 defeat they suffered at the Anoeta will remain. Borja Baston has been the standout performer in the Eibar this season with six goals in 12 games so far. The 23-year-old Spanish forward is the club’s top scorer and he will be keen on adding to his tally against the struggling hosts.

This is a must win fixture for Real Sociedad and I am disappointed that the youngster Mikel Oyarzabal has been rested from the squad. He has been very positive in the last 3 matches and deserved to retain his place. We need to build on the 2-0 positive result that we managed in our last home outing against Sevilla and a win today will start to edge us away from the Texans at the bottom.